Gas meter



Jan. 13, 1.931. i WAQDELL I 1,788,754

GAS METER Original Filed Sept. 20, 1927 2 sheets-sheet 1 Jan. 13, 1931. J, WADDELL 1,788,754

GAS METER Original Filed Sept. 20. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 an t ried -,entrained with the gas, from coming Patented Jan. 13, 1931 mins, A DELL, 50F BALTIMORE; orrro, ASSiGNOR, fBYM'ESNE nssreivmnursilro I briginalzapplication filed September 20,119.27,pSerial No; 3220;805i Divided and :th is application filled 7 aSeptember;19,:1-928. i

' TER'PARTS GQMPANY, A'COBPORATIO'NDF 1110 GAS METER;

. ,l his invention relates'to improvements in gas ;meters of the type cmployedbyrgas distributing; companies :for the purpose of registering volumetrically gas -flowlthrough cer tain .cond'uits \or,=-in other Words, to measu're" gas -.eonsumption thexinvention is happlica ble fparticul-arly .toithe -so-called. iiron case type of meter, or to that typewhi'clris formed toiinclude a body l eonsistingcof a metal 5 clasphragm structure which is situated between therbody-of the-casing andone-ofthe removable :cover plates ,in-such manner asrto, supportea pair-of gas-measuring chambers, valve means being provided in connection with the meter for-"controllingthe'flowof gas successtructure iscons'tantly subjectedon 1t s"0p sivelytosaid chambers ,so-thattlierdiaphragm pnsite sides to the unbalanced fluid pres- Y sures whereby the diaphragm pulsates as usual, loack 'and forth to impart control motion to -.associated gas flow, registering devices. I a 7 It is another object ofthe inventiontloi pror videianiiron casertyperof meter with animproved diaphragm structure so tormedas to prevent deleteriousrresidue .or'. deposit, carinto contact: and interfering with rtl'lB- operahas beenfound torbe distinctlyinjuriousand detrimental to the lifeandoperation of said flexible nnember (by causing the latter to quickly decomposeand lose, its life and flexible characteristics and, therefore, 'in the present invention prevents thiseonclitionby providinga trap for such residue or deposit which prevents the latter -from coming into contact with the leather or other flexible area of the diaphragm. The present inven- 'tionis directed*particularlyito-the diaphragm strueture per se and assuch-it constitutes a trueidivision of my earlier co-pending::a plication Serial .Number:220,-805. filed Septemher 20, 1927, directed-to improvements in gas meter This deposit seriarn isoeecskj .Eorla further understandingoftheinvcntiomreference ,is to be ,hadlto the following descr ption and .the (accompanying draw-vings wherein .E'gure 1. 's a vertical-sectional view-taken longitudinally through a ;gas \rneter pro-9 vided with the improved diaphragm-strum turecon 'pri-singthe gpresent inventiom c F gure 2 is a transverse sectional .view

takenthrough the middle, the plane'of which heinggatrright anglesrtolthe planeof the'view showninfEigurel, v, r I r flligure s8 is an enlarged vertical: sectional vlewrdisclnsingmore particularly the oon,- struction "ofithe-diaphragm, i v

.Eigure A "is .a :view in ,front elevation of the jdiaphragm and, I

jFiguretjisa viewinrearelevation. f

Referring more partic111ar1y'torthe dravv- 1ngs,..the.numeral';1 designates thehmainlbodv off the meter, ,whichlis :in theiorm .Off c an. an-

' body :constit.uting@thejSiTdes 3, 1 Screws or the like .5 are .used to {retain .the plates A seeure engagem'ent ;wvitl1 ,the;sides 3 I ,In accordance :With the present invention diaphragms 6 areutilized .whichlhave their peripheral portions clamped Ybe'tween'] the si'des3land the plates it and which serve to .di'-

vide thelower partofthe,meterlintohgasmease uring chambers Whifzha'rf 'designa'tefd.by the 1etters/A,IB:and 11]} r .Eachofthedi aphragms consists of: an outer metallic ring'x cor gztlmt? of flat. sheet lmetal materiahzsuitably aperture-2d at means; to

admit :of the. massage oi the :screws 7. 5 therethrough, in order that Ywhenthe ,latter are tightened\the' .ring orgasketfl Will Jo ersecurely positioned :betweengitsscomplemental vcover plate-14;,and the body-i1-,the:saidring serving imthe-capacity of. a; gasketrto prevent the uni controlled;escape,of gasrthroughtheopenings defined in the housing of the motor between said removable end plates and the body 1.

The ring 7 of each of the diaphragm structures terminates around its inner edge in an inwardly directed'flange 8 which is disposed immediately adjacent to the circular wall of the chamber B. To this flange there is secured the flexible leather section 9 of the diaphragm. This may be effected in the customary 'manner common to devices of this class, namely,

by tightly wrapping the outer edge of ithe leather section through the medium of a cord or the like soithat said leather section along its outer edged portion will be rigid and stationarily secured to the laterally extending set forth and claimed in my prior Patent Number 1,646,376, datedOctober 18, 1927.

An important feature of the present invention resides in extending the outer metallic part 7 of the diaphragm to include a divisional wall 11 which may be either integrally formed with or otherwiseattached t0 the ring or gasket 7. Thedivisional wall'11 is stationarily situatedbetween one or the other or both of the plates 4 and theinner section 10 of the diaphragm, and as shown comprises a metallic plate dished or eoncaved to allow movement of the diaphragm; The wall 11 is formed with an axial opening 12, and it will be seen,by reference to Figure 2, that when the gas enters the chamber A of the meter by way of a passage'13, formed in each of the plates 4, the ring or gasket 7 and the sides 3, the gas travels between the wall 11 and the adjacent plate 4: and finally into contact with the diaphragm by way of the opening12, producing operative movement on the part of the inner section 10 of said diaphragm, since when gas is introduced into thechamber A it may be exhausted from the chamber B, This construction is provided in order that the gas entering the chambers A or C will be so directed that any foreign matter entrained in the gas, such as thick gum or acid containing residue, will be trapped and confined in the spaces formed between the walls 11 and the plates 4 and positively prevented from entering the meter in such a manner as to come into direct contact with the flexible leather sections 9 of the diaphragm. This residue has been found to ex and by the use of the wall 11 the residue is kept away from the leather portion of the diaphragm and conveyed to zones where it can be conveniently removed from time to time. In addition, the walls 11 protect the leather section of the diaphragm from the effects of heat, particularly the structure serving to provide a double walled protection which enables the leather sections to maintain a desired operating temperature and prevents the leather from prematurely drying out. This is of benefit where the meters are placed in locations adjacent to a sourcefof heat'such'as a furnace, heat conveying conduits or the like. By removing the end plates 44 it will be seen that the diaphragm structure of the meter and the accumulated residue deposit may be removed from the meter in a complete and convenient manner.

The remaining features of the meter shown in the accompanying drawings havebeen set forth and claimed in my co-pending application above identified and are therefore not specifically claimed hereinafter. However,

for the purpose ofexplaining the operation L of the diaphragm structure and its relation to the meter, the following description is offered.

Mounted centrally upon each of the sections 10 of the diaphragm structures and located within the chamber B is a bracket 14 of substantially cross shapel form, to the horizontal arms of which there are connected a pair oflinks 15 which, in turn, are connected with the horizontal rung of pair of pivoted bails 16. Each oi these bails has its lower end pivotally mounted in connection with bearings .01- ears stationarily formed in the bottom of, the case. Each bail 16 serves to. support the inner section of each diaphragm and to provide for its regulated and uniform movement in a manner customary to'devices of this kind.

Thevertical legs of each of the brackets 14 are provided with outturned ears formed with registering openings for the reception of the lower crank shaped extensions of the flag arms 17. These arms extendupwardly through bearings 18 formed in the body 1 and the upper ends of said arms terminate within a linkage compartment D provided in the extreme upper part of the meter. This compartment is rendered accessible by an opening formed in the top "of the meter normally closed by a removable top plate 19. The crank arms are adapted to oscillate back and forth and in so doing effect, through the medium of links 20', the rota ion of a vertically disposed Worm 21. This worm eugages with a corresponding worm wheel 22 provided with a shaft 23 which when rotated effects the operation of a registration or index mechanism 24iof any suitable type. Also, the bottom of the worm is connected with a crank arm 25 to which is connected a valve disc 26. This disc is of the usual glass wears;

type .provided in connection with rotary valve gasmeters, WlllCl'l includes a flatlower surface which rests upon aynrrtitroned valve spider 27. As is customary in valvesof this 7 type the eperatio-n ofthe crank arm results inimparting an eccentric rotary mo- 3 tion' to the valve disc, moving the latter succonstantly filled with gas or other fluid undermeasurement. It will be seen that by the rotary movement of the disc 26 there will be accomplished at regularly timed intervals the opening of a port30 which establishes communication between the compart- .ment D and the compartment of middle chamberB of the meter, permitting the lat- .ter to receive a regulated supply of gas.

Similarly, the rotation of thedisc'uncovers' thepassages 31 and 32 which are employed to establish communication between the chambers A and C and the chamber D,- permitting gas to flow from the compartment D at regulated intervals to the chambers A and C. Further, due to the provision of the pocket 33 in the under side of the valve disc and the eccentric motion of the disc the port 30 and the Channels 31 and 32 will be successively'registered with a channel or pas.- sage 34 which leads from said pocket to the outlet of the conduit 35 of the meter.

It will be understood that the present in ,vention is directed broadly to diaphragm structures applicable for use in connection with any standard type of iron case meter, and I therefore do not limit myself to the specific details of meter design above set forth but'reserve the right toutilize said invention in any capacity and in any such structure wherein it may be found useful.

It istherefore' intended that the specific description above given shall not be considered as limiting the invention but merely as a vehicle of expressing the same, the invention being limited only by the specific structure described in the following claims.

What. is claimed is 1. In a gas meter, a casing including a diaphragm chamber open-at one end, a removable cover section closing the open end of said chamber, a diaphragm structure formed phragm structure.

aphragmawallssan inneradiscrmembernfzrigid material formed-fro ilIlGhId za aperipheral flanges-a-body offfiexibleiconnecting"material secured to the flanges? of said and disc memhers,:saidinmterial possessing slifiicient to the other 10f "the -;operating splane of zthe outer iring rmember, .and a ovall carried rby saidaouter.:rmginiember and srtuated between saidrdiaphragmistructure vandisaidremovable 'COVBI'FSBCEIOII, said IHSIEDHHIQCIilvflllfillelllg pros Yidellfiiltll a ;centrallygsituated opening,;said wall and cover r'see't'ion providing ztrap to receive residue contained inthe gas under 7 measurement. .2. i111 agaszmeter, a rcasingformedv'to f.1n

section, diaphragm structnre secured with in-esai d-mete'rfand having the-outer"peripheral portion 'ithereof clamped between said [body and 'rrenrovable cover plate, and stationary wall situated between esai dzdiaphragmi structure; :andisaid removable cover: plate, 'said wall being arranged sbeyon'd f the path ofzoporation of said diaphragm-s structure rand so formed asgto constitute ;a atra'pfito prevent deleterious:substancesiromzcomingpintoaoon tact with the diaphragm :strueture. ,3;.In;a;gas:meter, axicasingformed to include a body open at one end, a cover removably clamped to said body, a diaphragm structurepositioned between said body and said cover and securely clamped therebe-v tween, and a perforated plate stationarily positioned between 'said' diaphragm structure and said cover. g I

4. In a gas meter, a casing formed to include a body openv at one side, a removable cover for the open side ofsaid body, a di-' said cover and said body, and a residue trapping plate stationarily positioned between said cover and said diaphragm, the axial poraphragmstructure having the outer peripheral portion thereof clamped between,

tion of said plate being provided with a gas port, said port providing the sole. avenue of gas flow from the space provided between said cover and plate into cont-act with said dia- 5. A diaphragmstructure for gas meters comprising an outer metallic ring provided with a laterally projecting flange, aninner metallic disc member provided with a peripheral flange, a flexible f section securely connected with'the flanges of said ring and disc member, and a residue trapping plate connected with said ring member and opened at one side of the'diaphragm structure, the central portion of said plate'being provided with an opening.

6. A diaphragm structure for gas meters comprising an outer ring, an inner disk memlliZO her, a flexible member secured to saidouter ring and said disk member, and a residue trapping plate connected with said ring member andprovided with a gas opening.

7 The invention as defined in claim 6 wherein said residue trapping plate is concaved away from said disk member.

8. In a gas'meter, a main meter casing adapted to receive measured quantities of gas therein, a diaphragm structure secured in said casing including a flexible portion and adapted to pulsate in said casing, said casing having a passageway for admitting gas to said diaphragm structure and a perforated residue trapping plate interposed between said passageway and said diaphragm structure.

9. In a gas meter, an open-ended meter casing adapted. to receive measured quantities of gas therein, a diaphragm structure secured to said casing over the open end thereof and includlng a'flexlble portlon, a cover secured to the open end of said casing, said cover having a passageway for admitting gas to said casing, and a perforated residue trapping plate interposed between said passageway and said diaphragm structure.

10. The invention as defined in claim 9 wherein said plate is interposed between said cover and said diaphragm structure.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

HOMER J. WADDELL. 

